Have you ever called city officials looking for an update on
when a snow plow will clear your neighborhood?

Allentown now has an answer.

The city’s newly-installed emergency operations center,
unveiled by officials Tuesday, can track the whereabouts and activities of any
vehicles in the city fleet and emergency vehicles down to the minute that they
passed a specific address and what kind of work they did in the area.

Mayor Ed Pawlowski said the new system, which was installed
over the last year for about $15,000, will better prepare the city to deal with
major events such as Super Storm Sandy, which struck the area one year ago
Tuesday. Up to six dispatchers can work in the new control room at the city’s
Streets Department to coordinate the deployment of public works, fire and other
emergency crews in response to specific events that are recorded in the system.

“Super Storm Sandy proved to officials across the region
that a major storm with serious short-term consequences can happen here,”
Pawlowski said. “We need to have the resources to be able to handle it in the
best way possible.”
The center can also be used during smaller scale events like
localized snowstorms or even for day-to-day operations to give residents more
accurate information about what is going on in their neighborhoods.

GPS- and GIS-powered maps and tracking systems show exactly
where street sweepers are and have been at any given time, and can even show
which sections of road crews were sweeping or not sweeping, whether they were
spraying water and the speed at which they were traveling, said Craig Messinger, deputy director of public works. The
same technology can show where snow plows are moving and whether the plow is up
or down, he said.

Pawlowski said the system will improve the way the city
officials interact with the public. When residents call asking about snow
removal, officials can now tell them exactly when a plow was last in their area
and what kind of work was done.

A dedicated phone line in the center connects to the city’s
communications center for contact with the police and fire departments as well
as paramedics. If electric service is interrupted in an emergency, the center is
powered by a natural gas generator.